The Miracles on Prescott Street
by Neo Horizon
Summary: A demon that can control magical movement teams up with the Source and targets the Charmed Ones. Without the power to orb and shimmer, can Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Leo, and Cole withstand the Source's latest attack—and protect an 8-month pregnant Piper? They'll have to work together, make a stand at the manor, and fight for what matters most: family.
1. The Calm Before the Storm

**Author's Notes:** I was a huge Charmed fan back in the day, and I wrote this story long ago for a contest where writers tried to predict how the birth of Piper and Leo's first child would happen. That's right folks, you're about to read a fairly AU rendition about our favorite witches, white lighter, and demon, and how they came to be parents and aunts/uncles for the first time.

Scared? Well you should know that this story took first place in the contest. :) That's a pretty good indication that reading this won't melt your brain. _Miracles_ takes place some time between seasons 4 and 5 (but it's been so long since I've watched any Charmed that I can't pinpoint it any better than that, lol). Anyway, please read and enjoy!

* * *

**The Miracles on Prescott Street**  
Chapter 1: The Calm Before the Storm

* * *

Piper threw open the front door and stormed into the manor. Following closely behind her was a battered Leo who was nursing his cut hand. He hurried in as quickly as he could, trying to catch his wife. Further behind them, Paige, Phoebe and Cole also entered the manor. The three looked roughed up and worn out, but not as badly as Leo did. The five of them had just returned from an intense battle with a group of warlocks, but Piper was surprisingly unhurt. Once again, she had been forced to stand back and watch, but enough had finally been enough.

"Piper, listen to me!" Leo pleaded to his wife.

"No Leo, listen to me!" Piper yelled. "I want you to - no, I need you to stop treating me like a baby. I'm eight months pregnant, I'm not incompetent!"

"No one said you were!" Leo exclaimed, throwing up his hands in frustration. Blood from his cut splattered across the floor. "I was just trying to protect you!"

"Well," Piper said, eyeing the blood, "we all see how well that worked out."

At that point, Cole began to snicker until Phoebe sharply poked him in the ribs.

"Anyway," Piper continued, ignoring Cole, "I didn't need your protection. I saw that warlock and I was about to blow him up."

"You can't blame a husband for helping his wife," Leo pointed out.

"You can when that husband causes more trouble than help!" Piper exploded. "You're lucky Cole saw you taking on that warlock, or else you would have had one less hand!"

"I had to do something, Piper. Its not easy watching you fight evil day in and day out. I can't just stand around anymore and wait to see what dangers the new Source will throw at you and our daughter."

"And I can't go around having you shadow me all day. I have a life, and I can't just stop living it."

Silence filled the manor. Phoebe and Paige shared an uncomfortable glance, unsure of what to do next. It was Cole who stepped in. Loudly clearing his throat, he announced, "If no one needs me, I'll just go snoop around in the Underworld." Just before shimmering out, he whispered to Phoebe and Paige, "You two better leave before she accidentally blows you up."

Paige's eyes widened in horror. There was no way she could ignore a warning like that. Piper was known to lose control of her exploding powers if she got too emotional.

"Hey Phoebe, could you help me go bandage this cut on my arm?" Paige asked, saying the first thing that popped into her mind.

"Sure, Paige. Let's go!" Phoebe said quickly. "There's nothing more dangerous than a cut."

"What cut are we talking about?" Piper asked as she eyed Paige's scratchless arms.

"Uhh...this one," Paige said, pointing to her elbow.

"I don't see anything."

"Well then you must need your eyes checked."

"Come on," Phoebe said and took Paige's hand. She led the way past the fighting couple, but as she passed Piper she whispered, "Go easy on him, honey. You know he's just doing this because he loves you so much."

And with that, Phoebe and Paige scurried into the kitchen, stepping on each other's heels in their rush. Piper snickered as she watched them leave. Then she glanced to Leo who was nervously trying to wipe the blood off his hand.

"How's the cut?" she asked.

Leo held up his hand to show her the flurry of glowing orbs slowly closing the wound.

"All healed."

"You wanna go upstairs? I'll help you clean up," she said, gesturing to his torn up shirt and pants.

"Why don't we orb?" Leo suggested, seeing her head for the stairs.

Piper turned around and glared at him.

"Uh, uh," Leo stammered, "not that I don't think you could walk up the stairs, I mean you could, I just thought maybe it'd be faster, not that I don't think–"

"It's okay," Piper cut in, thinking about Phoebe advice. _"I think I _am_ too hard on him. I can't be mad at him for caring about me,"_ she said to herself.

Walking over to where Leo was standing, she hugged him and said, "Let's just orb."

Leo smiled, held her close, and let his powers carry them upstairs.

* * *

Down in the Underworld, Cole was slowly making his way through maze-like passages. He could hear voices come from a brightly lit room near him, so he crept closer. Kneeling behind a large boulder, Cole gasped at what he saw. The room was occupied by a tall, muscular, bald demon. Aside from the tattered pair of shorts he wore, the demon was bare. His skin was a deep shade of red, and his chest displayed a large black tattoo. The design was a jumble of thick, curved lines that resembled nothing Cole could recognize.

Wait! From behind the boulder, Cole froze. That tattoo. He did recognize it. Maybe he had seen it in his days as Belthazor. That mark represented a dangerous species of demon, but which one? Cole was so lost in his thoughts that he did not notice the hooded man until he spoke.

"So Grral," the man said, addressing the demon, "do you accept my offer? Will you work for me?"

Cole's attention flew to the speaker. Narrowing his eyes he whispered, "The new Source."

The demon dropped onto one knee and bowed. "I will work for you, master."

"Excellent!" the Source boomed, clapping his hands together. "As soon as you destroy the Charmed Ones for me, you will renew the name of your deceased brethren; the Ferrals!"

Cole gasped again. "Oh crap. Not those damn Ferrals!"

"The Whitelighter and his witch are moving," Grral announced, standing up. "What do you wish to do?"

"Throw them off course a bit, but don't hurt them. Our fun will come later tonight."

Grral nodded. He closed his eyes and moved his hands in a complicated gesture.

"Leo and Piper!" Cole thought with worry and shimmered out.

"Their demon is moving," Grral announced again. "What do you wish to do?"

"Hmm..." the Source said thoughtfully. "Hurt him."

Grral nodded. He closed his eyes and performed the complicated gesture once again.

* * *

"Nice try honey," Piper said as she stepped out of the shower, "but I think our room is a couple of doors down to the right."

"I don't get what happened," Leo muttered as he stepped out of the shower behind Piper. "We were heading for our room, but at the last second it felt like someone threw us in here."

"It was probably just a fluke," Piper said and gently pushed him out of the bathroom. Then she took his hand. "At least we made it to the second floor."

"No... something's not right," he mumbled as Piper lead them to their room.

"Maybe you're just tired from protecting me against that big, bad warlock," Piper suggested with a smile.

Leo looked at her and saw that she was no longer mad about that. "Does that mean I'm forgiven?" Leo asked.

"Actually," Piper said, leaning against the stair railing, "I was hoping you would forgive me."

"How come?"

"Because I don't know how great my husband is," she said, looking into Leo's eyes lovingly.

"What did Phoebe whisper to you?" Leo asked with a playful smile.

"She just made me realize how lucky I am. Most wives would kill for a guy like you. Not everyone is married to a sweet, considerate, protective, angel." Leo opened his mouth to say something, but Piper placed a finger on his lips to stop him. "Wait. I know you mean well, and I am sorry for yelling at you, but I can't have you following me around all day. Something needs to change."

"Well," Leo began as he put his arms around Piper's waist, "if you promise to try and stay away from all things demonic for the rest of this pregnancy, then I promise I will give you your space. Deal?"

"You'll stop following me around if I stay out of battles?"

Leo nodded.

"Okay, deal," she agreed, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him.

Suddenly, Piper broke the kiss and gasped.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I think our daughter is agreeing to the deal," Piper laughed and placed Leo's hand on her stomach.

"I guess she doesn't want demons dropping in on her mommy either," he said with a smile. They leaned in to kiss again, but something caught their attention. The air near the chandelier began to waver, and in shimmered...

"Cole!" Piper exclaimed.

Cole looked down in surprise and yelled as he fell through the air.

* * *

"I'm glad you and Cole finally made up," Paige told Phoebe as they sat down at the kitchen table. "You seemed so determined to get a divorce."

"Yeah, well he made me see that it was never him who tried to hurt me. It was always the Source, and Cole never stopped fighting when he was possessed."

"It's good to know that Cole wasn't really Cole. I hated feeling that I couldn't trust my own brother-in-law," Paige said with a shudder.

"About that Paige," Phoebe began slowly, "I don't think I ever apologized for the way I acted to you."

"It's okay," Paige said with sisterly affection. "I probably would have done the same thing if I were in your position."

"It's not okay, honey. I owe you an apology for acting like such a bit-"

"No apology needed," Paige said firmly. The two smiled at each other.

"You know what?" Phoebe asked, hearing the silence in the living room. "I think Leo and Piper have stopped fighting."

"That, or she blew him up," Paige quipped.

Phoebe slapped her arm playfully as they stood up.

"Paige!" Phoebe exclaimed with mock seriousness. "If Leo was blown up we would have heard the explosion."

They burst into giggles as they made their way out of the kitchen.

"AHHHH!" they heard someone yell from above. Looking overhead they saw Cole rapidly falling from the second floor. Thinking quickly, Paige decided that the only way to help was to soften his landing.

"Sofa!" she called and gestured to place the piece of furniture under Cole's body. Unfortunately, it appeared above Cole and began to fall with him.

Cole looked up. The ground was rushing up beneath him and a sofa was closing in above him.

THUMP! He landed painfully on his side. He threw up a single, uninjured arm over his head to try and shield himself from a bone shattering blow... that never landed. Slowly lowering his arm, Cole saw the sofa suspended in midair. It had stopped less than half a foot from his body.

Cole sighed with relief and began to haul himself from under the sofa with his one good arm. "A little help?" he weakly asked, collapsing painfully on his stomach. Phoebe and Paige rushed forward and dragged him out the rest of the way.

"Careful," Cole groaned. "Everything feels broken except for my right arm."

Leo and Piper hurried down the stairs.

"Okay, uh, we need to offset his demonic half, Paige," Leo said and offered his hand to Paige.

"Ready," Paige said and grabbed it. Together, they began to heal his entire body.

"Thanks for catching the sofa," Cole said as he looked to Piper, "but you could've caught me too."

"Well I was trying to Cole, but somebody's sofa got in the way of my freeze," she said, glaring at Paige. Then she unfroze the sofa and let it drop to the ground.

"I was trying to orb it under him. It's not like I was trying to crush him," Paige said defensively. "And anyway, none of this would have happened if somebody hadn't shimmered in right next to the chandelier."

"I didn't shimmer in there," Cole said. "There's a Ferral demon named Grral working for the Source."

"I'm sorry. Was that Grral the Ferral demon?" Phoebe asked with a laugh as Leo helped Cole to his feet.

"I like the rhyming," Piper said sarcastically.

"Yeah," Leo added, coming up behind Piper. He wrapped his arms around her. "I think it makes him sound scary." Piper gave him a playful smile and hugged his arms tightly around her.

"Ohhh..." Paige cooed, seeing Leo and Piper. "You two made up."

"Ahem." Cole cleared his throat. "If we could get back to the demon."

"Oh yeah," Phoebe said. "Um, Grral the Ferral. What's his story?"

"The Ferrals are a nearly extinct species of demon. The last Source–"

"The one before you?" Paige asked.

"Uh, yeah I guess," Cole answered softly. Piper gave her little sister a stern look, which Paige countered with her innocent 'what?' look. Cole's demonic past was a delicate topic that everyone (except Paige) tried to avoid talking about.

"Anyway," Cole continued, "that Source tried to kill all of the Ferrals because they were so powerful. They were supposed to be extinct, but rumors of Ferral sightings were heard every now and then. I guess they were true, because I just saw one in the Underworld."

"So what makes this Grral guy so powerful?" Piper asked.

"Ferrals have the power to alter the landing of magically moved objects. I think you and Leo already got a taste of it."

"Oh," Leo realized. "I guess that's why we missed our room and landed in the bathroom."

"And why I almost flattened you with the sofa, Cole," Paige added. "Sorry by the way."

"It wasn't your fault," he assured her.

"So what you're saying is you can't shimmer, Leo can't orb, Paige can't orb or telekinetically orb, and I can't levitate?" Phoebe worried asked.

"No no. You can still levitate," Cole corrected. "It doesn't count as magical movement unless you disappear and reappear."

"Well that's just perfect!" Paige exclaimed sarcastically. "I have absolutely zero powers to work with unless you count healing, which I don't because I can't do it without Leo's help!"

"Whoa... calm down sweetie," Piper said, slightly alarmed by Paige's outburst. "It'll be okay. We've been through stuff like this before. Remember the Hollow?"

"Uh huh," Phoebe said, jumping in. "You and Piper both lost you powers and we still managed to defeat the Source."

"Yeah, but not before our Whitelighter got skewered with an arrow, our older sister got thrown through a wall, and our resident ex-demon got turned into a demon again!"

Silence settled upon the room.

"See how well having no powers worked out?" Piper asked meekly, causing Paige to scoff.

"I think we're getting too ahead of ourselves," Leo observed. "Maybe we should figure out how to vanquish the demon first."

"Book of Shadows anyone?" Phoebe asked.

"No need. I already know how to kill it," Cole said.

"Well thanks for sharing," Paige commented sarcastically.

Ignoring Paige, Cole said, "The only way to defeat a Ferral demon is to disfigure the black tattoo on its chest with a golden blade."

"Are you sure the blade has to be gold?" Leo asked. "Because gold doesn't hold an edge very well. It can barely cut anything."

"I'm sure. Ferral skin is tough, but gold will slice it like a knife through butter."

"So how disfigured does the tattoo have to be?" Phoebe asked.

"Even a nick in the tattoo will kill it," Cole replied. "But it's not as easy as it sounds."

"Sure it is," Piper insisted. "You and Phoebe are good with knives. I'll freeze and one of you can do the hack and slash."

"Actually, I don't think that'll work," Leo said. "I've heard that Ferral demons have a kind of deflection power and resistance to some magic."

"Yeah," Cole said. "I probably should have mentioned that before."

"You think?" the girls asked simultaneously.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I came across this super-old fanfic while organizing my writing folder recently. I had never planned to post this on since I wrote it so long ago, but I started skimming through the first page and I was surprised how intrigued I was by my own story. (God, how narcissistic is that? -_-) Well anyway, I hope you all find it intriguing too!

The complete story is about 8000 words, so I'll probably break it up into another 2 or 3 chapters. I'll post as I complete the editing. Stay tuned, and please continue to read and review! :D


	2. Battle Preparations

**The Miracles on Prescott Street  
**Chapter 2: Battle Preparations**  
**

* * *

"Did anyone find that trunk yet?" Paige asked, shifting a small box of clothes. A chorus of "no's" answered back.

The five of them were in the attic, searching for a trunk of weapon among a large variety of junk. Actually, only four of them were looking for weapons. They all agreed (except for Piper) that lifting heavy boxes was not something a pregnant woman should do.

"How does the trunk look again?" Cole asked.

"Small, made of wood, rounded top, and a rusted steel frame," Phoebe answered, poking through a pile of the attic's clutter.

"Got it!" the guys exclaimed. Together they dragged it out from beneath a box mounded high with old books.

"Where should we put it?" Leo asked.

"Bring it over here," Piper answered. She was idly flipping through the Book, looking for more information on Ferral demons.

Cole and Leo carried the trunk over to the book stand where the sisters' Book of Shadows was sitting. Setting it down, Leo immediately began inspecting the old lock.

"Did you find anything new?" Phoebe asked Piper. Piper stepped back and showed her a page headed "Ferral Demons". There was a large, red bodied demon drawn on the page. The black tattoo that Cole had described was clearly visible on its chest. Beneath the picture was a hefty paragraph of neat, loopy writing.

"It says pretty much what Leo and Cole told us," Piper reported. "They can control magical movement, deflect attacks, and they're immune to some magic."

"Great. We have to figure out how to destroy an invulnerable demon," Phoebe said with frustration.

"Well how did the last Source do it," Paige asked. "The one before you I mean."

That got her a cold look from Phoebe.

_"Maybe I should stop bringing that up," _Paige thought to herself.

Cole sighed. "I'm not really sure," he said. It was before I became a demon. I think the Source used a large group of warlocks. They all shimmered at once or something and the Ferral couldn't handle them all."

"I've heard that story," Leo broke in. "They shimmered in so close to the Ferral demon that it didn't have time to deflect all of the attacks. A couple slashed his tattoo and it was over. The Source just kept sending his men in large groups to wipe the Ferrals out."

"I'm not sure that'll work with our numbers," Phoebe said, looking around the attic. "There are only three of us who can "magically move."

"How about we worry about weapons first and game plans second," Piper suggested. "How are you coming with the lock, honey?"

"I'll need my toolbox to get it off. Are you sure we have weapons with gold blades in there?" he asked.

"I think there's a gold short sword in there," Piper said, "otherwise all we have is this athame." She picked up the dagger from a table and showed the others.

"Those are the only gold-bladed weapons we have?" Cole asked.

"Hey!" Piper protested. "Gold weapons are expensive."

"Okay, then I've got to go get my toolbox, unless you have the key somewhere," Leo said.

"No, we lost that years ago," Piper replied nonchalantly. "But why use a key when you can just do this?" She gestured towards the rusted lock and blew the shackle in half.

"Cool," Phoebe said in admiration. "You didn't even scratch the trunk."

"I've been practicing."

"Found the sword!" Paige exclaimed as she opened the trunk. She pulled out an eighteen inch gold short sword with a jewel encrusted handle.

"Wow..." Cole gasped, his eyes wide with delight. Piper almost laughed at his expression. "Where did you get that?"

"I think we got that sword about two years ago," Phoebe said. "This pathetic warlock tried to attack us with it. Remember Piper?"

"How could I forget. The guy dropped his sword and Prue made it fly up and hit him in the chest like a zillion times," Piper said with a shudder.

"Okay, it was only twice," Phoebe corrected, "and Prue apologized for freaking you out."

"You freaked out?" Cole asked incredulously.

"Yes. I had nightmares for like a week."

"Guess that's why it was hidden up here in a locked trunk with no key," Paige whispered to Cole, earning herself a dirty look from Piper.

Leo took the sword from Paige and examined it.

"It's pretty sharp for a gold weapon. It's probably has some kind of magic on it that stops it from getting dull."

"Do you mind if I test it out?" Cole asked as he reached for the sword.

"Be my guest," Leo said and handed it over.

As excited as a kid on Christmas morning, Cole took the sword and began to swing it. Slashing the air several times, he finally announced, "Great sword," and walked to the other side of the attic to perform more elaborate strokes.

"So, anything left for the rest of us?" Leo asked.

"Uh..." Phoebe said as she rummaged through the trunk of weapons, "I think this is the last golden anything." Standing up, she held out a flat, four-pointed star in her hand.

"A gold throwing star?" Piper asked with skepticism. "Are you sure?"

"A gold blade is a gold blade, Piper," Phoebe pointed out. "Plus, it's still sharp too. It must have that same magic on it."

"Who gave you that?" Paige asked. "A rich ninja?"

"More importantly," Leo interrupted, "can you use it?"

"I'm not sure," Phoebe said. "How do you throw it?"

"Hey!" Cole called from across the room. He pointed to the box of books that the trunk had been found under. "Do you need these?"

"Uh, no Cole. Help yourself," Piper said with confusion. She turned back to the others. "Anyway, I, uh, think you just throw it like a Frisbee. Just–" she said, demonstrating the action.

"Just–" Phoebe copied the motion and let the star go. It flew across the attic and headed towards the thick book Cole had just thrown in the air. The star sliced the book right in the middle– spine to the cover's edge– and imbedded itself into the wall. The two halves of the book began to fall and Cole swung the short sword upwards. It sliced the book from top to bottom and the four sections fell to the ground, pages exploding from the covers.

Everyone stared open mouthed at the shredded book. Cole, however, smiled widely.

"Weapons, check!"

* * *

Moments later, Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Leo and Cole found themselves sitting in the living room. Piper was passing out the weapons and Cole had just helped her avert crisis. She had given Cole the short sword and Phoebe the throwing star based on their demonstrations in the attic. That had left Leo, Paige, and only one gold athame. Both of them were equally powerless in battle because of Grral, so it would be unfair to give one a weapon and not the other.

Cole, who sensed Piper's problem, spoke up.

"On second thought Piper, I think I'm gonna just use my fireballs." He handed her back the sword. "They probably won't hurt Grral, but I could use them as a distraction or something."

"Uh, thanks Cole," Piper said, giving him a curious look. She had seen the way he looked at the sword in the attic. It was obvious how much he liked the sword, so why was he giving it away? Brushing the thoughts out of her mind, she handed out the rest of the weapons. "Okay, Phoebe has the throwing star, Paige has the athame, Leo has the short sword, Cole has his fireballs, and I have my exploding powers. I think we're all set."

"So now, I guess we wait," Paige said.

"Do you know when Grral plans to attack?" Leo asked Cole.

"Sometime tonight," Cole replied.

"Oh no..." Piper whispered, sitting up straight in her chair.

"Don't worry Piper," Cole said. "With five experienced fighters, this battle will be a cinch."

"No no, it's no that. It's... uh... my water just broke."

For the third time that day complete silence filled the manor, broken only when Phoebe began to laugh nervously.

"You're kidding, right Piper?"

"I could stand up and show you the chair."

"Okay, you're not kidding," she said, her face falling. "What the hell are we gonna do?!"

"Calm down, Phoebe!" Cole said in surprise. "We'll take her to the hospital right now and be there with plenty of time to spare. Everything will be okay."

"Are you forgetting something, Cole?" Leo running to Piper's side. "Maybe a demonic something?"

"Leo's right," Piper said. "If I go to the hospital and that Ferral thing attacks, a lot of lives will be in danger."

"So what do you suggest Piper? That you'll have the baby here?" Paige asked.

"What are the other options?" Piper asked resolutely.

"But–"

"Not now Paige," Phoebe interrupted. "Piper's right. There's no other choice."

"Well what are we gonna do? No one here has ever delivered a baby before," Paige said.

"That's not true," Phoebe corrected her. "Just two years ago, Prue, Piper and I delivered our great, great, great, great, great, great, grandmother."

Paige looked to Leo and Cole who nodded in agreement.

"I'm not even going to ask," Paige said.

"If we're gonna do this, then we need some things," Phoebe said, taking command. "Cole, go up to the attic and find the box of Siderite crystals. Paige, go find some extra pillows and blankets. Leo, go to the kitchen and bring back all the apples you can find.

Cole, Paige, and Leo stopped and stared at her.

"Apples?" Leo asked.

"Yes. Now go!" Phoebe yelled at them, and they all ran to get the supplies.

"Hungry?" Piper asked, referring to the apples.

Phoebe smiled as she helped her sister over to the couch. "We're gonna use them to make a protective circle. Remember when Prue and I did that for Charlotte?"

"How would I remember? You and Prue stuck me with the messy job," Piper recalled with a laugh.

"Hey! We only did that because we knew that you and Leo would have a baby in the future. And we were right, weren't we?" Phoebe said, laughing with Piper. But Piper suddenly stopped laughing and sighed. Concerned, Phoebe asked, "Are you okay, sweetie?"

"I'm fine," Piper told her. But Phoebe, who had known Piper her entire life, could hear the subtle tone of fear in her voice.

"Are you okay?" Phoebe asked again. "And I'd like the truth this time."

Piper sighed again. "I just wish Prue, Mom, and Grams were here."

"I do too, honey."

"I'm scared, Phoebe. What if something goes wrong with the delivery?"

"That won't happen," Phoebe said, giving Piper a hug. "Everything will be fine."

"How do you know that?"

"Hello?" Phoebe said playfully. "I can see the future."

"Phoebe."

"Okay, I don't know what will happen. But I do know that you don't need to worry about it. I'm here to protect you. Paige, Leo, and even Cole are here to protect you, too."

"I don't know what I'd do without you," Piper said, hugging Phoebe. "I love you."

"I love you too," Phoebe whispered, hugging her sister tightly in return. "No one is going to hurt our family, I promise."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Thanks for reading. :) The fighting starts with the next chapter (and ends in the one after that), so stay tuned for magical chaos and the kind of familial teamwork that only the Halliwells can offer!


	3. Family

**The Miracles on Prescott Street**  
Chapter 3: Family

* * *

"You really think it'll be okay?" Paige asked. She and Cole were sitting together at the top of the stairs, waiting for Phoebe and Piper to finish their sisterly talk.

"I think so. As long as we can protect Piper, it'll all work out."

"All I know is that with only three fighters, you me, and probably Phoebe will have to work as a team," Paige said.

"And that'll happen as long as we can trust each other, and we do trust each other, right?" Cole asked.

"Right," Paige agreed. "Come on, let's go prepare this battlefield!"

***

More than an hour later, the whole family was gathered in the living room. Piper was lying comfortably on a bed of pillows and blankets on the floor. The Siderite crystals were placed in a wide circle around her.

"If Siderite crystals can trap demons from getting out, then they can stop demons from getting in," Phoebe had theorized.

The original idea was for Piper to have the baby on the couch, but the Siderite field wasn't strong enough to protect Leo, Piper and the couch. The second plan was for Leo and Piper to deliver the baby upstairs, but Cole pointed out, "If Grral decides to come after you two instead of us, we'll never make it upstairs in time."

The third plan, which was in use right then, was for Leo and Piper to deliver the baby right there in the living room. They were moved out of the way so that the battle and delivery wouldn't get in the way of each other. In addition to the circle of crystals protecting Piper and Leo, there was also a ring of apples around them. They had all been blessed by Phoebe and Paige ('knowledge and reverence, knowledge and reverence, knowledge and reverence') and now created a protective circle.

Phoebe and Leo sat with Piper. Cole and Paige, though they were part of the family, did not feel comfortable enough to help Piper with the delivery. They were on the other side of the room sparring with each other. Cole was doing his best to help Paige become a better fighter.

"Keep your arm up to block," Cole said as he lightly swung a fist at Paige.

From across the room, they heard Leo say, "The contractions are close. I think it's time."

"That was fast," Paige commented and she and Cole walked over to them. "I thought labor was supposed to take a couple of hours."

"Consider me lucky," Piper said, gritting her teeth in pain.

Paige entered both the protective circle and Siderite field and knelt down next to Phoebe. Cole, forgetting that he was part demon, slammed into the protective field and stumbled backwards.

"It works!" Phoebe exclaimed, completely delighted.

Slightly annoyed, Cole asked, "Do you guys need anything?"

"Nothing except for a little privacy," Leo replied. "We all don't need to deliver this baby."

"Um, do you want me to leave?" Cole asked.

"Leave before the party even starts?" a deep voice asked. "Where's the fun in that, Belthazor?"

Everyone gasped. Cole quickly spun around and created a fireball. Behind him, Phoebe and Paige exited the protective circle and Siderite field. They both drew out their weapons.

"My name hasn't been 'Belthazor' in years," Cole loudly declared to the unseen foe.

"Cole," Leo hissed. He tossed the gold short sword to Cole, who nodded and received it with a smile.

"Keep your eyes open and be prepared," Cole told Phoebe and Paige. As soon as those words were out of his mouth, a big, muscular, red skinned demon shimmered in on the other side of the room.

Grral snickered at them as he surveyed the room. "Two witches, a Whitelighter, a half demon, and a Whitelighter-witch. This should be an interesting battle, but–" he pulled a remorseful face, "–I can see that the white lighter and a witch are preoccupied!" He shook his head slowly from side to side. "What a pity." Then her turned to Piper and asked, "Can I get you anything? A slow death, perhaps?"

"Don't you dare talk to her," Phoebe growled. Her face was contorted with fury.

Grral sniffed the air.

"Witch," he said, pointing to Phoebe. Then he turned to Paige. "That must make you the Whitelighter-witch!" he happily assumed. "I've never met one before, let alone killed one."

Cole stepped in front of Paige.

"Don't... threaten... her..." Cole said slowly, looking at Grral with narrowed eyes.

"And the half demon formerly known as 'Belthazor'," Grral spat. "You have quite the reputation in the Underworld. Fell in love with a witch, vanquished his demon half, married his witch, became possessed by the Source, got vanquished by his witch, escaped demonic limbo, and divorced his witch."

"That's me, except that I'm still madly in love and happily married to my wife," Cole said smugly. "I'd ask you to clear that up in the Underworld for me, but it doesn't look like you'll be making it outta here alive."

"No more small talk," Grral announced nonchalantly. "I'm getting hungry and rumor has it that infant flesh is very tender..."

Completely enraged that a demon would threaten her niece, Phoebe flew at Grral. She aimed a flurry of kicks and punches at his head and chest, hoping to knock him down. Unfortunately, Grral seemed to be a skilled fighter, too. He matched Phoebe move for move, blocking all of her attacks and throwing in some of his own.

Phoebe stumbled away from Grral, both winded and wounded. But, she hadn't given up yet. Channeling her anger, Phoebe took a levitating leap and planted her soles on Grral's face. He staggered backwards, clutching his face in pain.

"Cole! Paige!" she called.

Paige reacted first. She hauled her arm back and threw the dagger as hard as she could. It flew through the air, flipping end over end as it neared her target. It was inches from hitting flesh when Grral, who was still clutching his face, threw out his hand. The athame suddenly spiraled away and flew back at Paige!

"DON'T ORB!" Paige screamed to herself. "DUCK!" but she was too slow. She saw the athame head towards her, but she couldn't move out of the way. Instead, she just threw her hands over her head and squeezed her eyes shut. She waited for the cold gold to rip her flesh... but it never did.

"Grab it, Paige!" Piper yelled.

Paige opened her eyes and saw the athame suspended in time. She grabbed the athame's handle just as the freeze wore off and felt its momentum jerk her arm.

"Thanks, Piper!" she called, but the only response she from her sister was a cry of pain.

Grral's deflection power seemed limited to weapon blows, so Cole and Phoebe were mainly battling him in hand-to-hand combat. Every now and then Cole would throw a fireball to distract him and try to get a hit with his sword, but he had yet to be successful.

Phoebe gave up on her useless star. She tucked it into her belt and relied solely on her martial arts and levitation.

Paige saw how distracted Grral was with having two attackers. Using this to her advantage, Paige sneaked behind him. Cole understood her plan and began to throw a series of fireballs at Grral's face.

Grral began to scream in frustration at Cole's harmless, but annoying attacks. He swung a beefy arm and knocked Phoebe and Cole clear off their feet. He whirled around to find Paige, who was ready to leap in front of him and cut into his tattoo with a surprise attack.

Caught off guard by Grral's sudden movement, Paige blindly stabbed at his chest. The demon caught her by the wrists in mid-attack. She dropped her dagger as he swung her over his head and let go.

Paige felt herself fly through the air and skid across the floor, taking out half of the protective circle and Siderite field.

"No!" Paige and Leo cried in horror as she scattered the apples and crystals. The protection was lost.

Cole had seen the destroyed protective circle and Siderite field, as did Grral, but Phoebe had not. Oblivious to Leo and Piper's vulnerability, Phoebe pulled out her throwing star. Paige and Cole knew she was going to throw it at Grral and he was going to deflect it; at Leo and Piper!

"No, Phoebe!" Paige cried. She reached for the Siderite crystal lying near her. Half a dozen apples had been scattered from its circle but only two crystals were missing from their field. If she was going to save Leo and Piper, her best chance was to reestablish the Siderite field.

"Leo! Catch!" she called and threw the crystal. Leo caught it and set it in place.

"Get the other one!" he bellowed.

Paige looked around and saw that the other crystal had flown halfway across the room. She'd never make it in time.

"If only I could orb," she wished as she dashed across the room.

Cole let go of his sword and stumbled to his feet. He didn't even bother to try and stop Phoebe from throwing the star. It was too late. The weapon was already thrown and Cole was running to where Leo and Piper were. Grral threw out his hand and eagerly deflected the star to where Cole had predicted. It was now heading towards Leo, who was holding his daughter!

"Leo!" he cried, and watched his brother-in-law look up in horror.

Running even faster, Cole stretched out his hand to catch the star, but it was too far away. The rotating blades were still heading for Leo and his daughter. It was inches from tearing into them… and then it froze. But Cole never stopped running.

"In Piper's condition, she won't hold it long," he thought, and reached out his hand to bat the frozen star away.

"ARGHHH!" Cole bellowed in pain. He had reached his hand in front of the star just as it had started rotating again. It struck the inside of his palm, one point cutting clear through to the other side. He collapsed to the ground clutching his bloodied hand. He could feel the cold gold between his flesh.

"Cole? Oh my god, are you okay?!" Piper asked frantically as blood began spilling onto the floor.

Paige suddenly appeared with the second Siderite crystal.

"Ohh…" she cooed softly, looking at the baby. "She's beautifahhhh! Oh my god, Cole!"

"I'm so sorry Cole. I couldn't hold it any longer," Piper apologetically cried.

"We can heal him," Leo said, gently handing Piper their daughter. "Paige?"

"Ugh," she said, looking at Cole's hand. "If only we could transfer a wound like that to Grral."

Cole's eyes widened as she said those words. Transfer the wound. That was it!

Paige took Leo's hand and they reached for Cole's wound.

"Wait," Cole said and ripped the star out of his hand. Blood poured out of the deep would but he ignored it. "Heal me later. I've got an idea." He looked around and saw a glass vase.

"Here," he said, tossing the vase to Leo. "When I tell you to, throw this at Grral and have Piper blow it up."

Paige shrugged at the confused looks that appeared on Piper and Leo's faces. Setting the final crystal in place, she reactivated the Siderite field.

"What are you planning?" Piper asked as she cradled her daughter.

"I don't want him to overhear us," Cole said, gesturing to the demon. "You'll just have to wait and see. And make sure you cover your daughter. This vanquish is gonna be loud and messy."

Grabbing Paige's hand and pulling her back into the battle, he called over his shoulder, "She's beautiful by the way!"

Leo and Piper looked at each other in surprise.

"Cole sure has changed," she observed. "It's like he was never a demon."

"I think you're right Piper, but Cole's right too."

"About what?" she asked.

"Our daughter really is beautiful," Leo said and kissed Piper.

***

"If you really trust me Paige, now's the time to prove it," Cole said as he pulled Paige by the hand. "Just stand here and don't move. I've gotta go help Phoebe."

"Uh… sure Cole," she said with confusion.

Gathering his energy, Cole formed a massive fireball. Phoebe was still fighting with Grral, and he could see the fatigue on her face.

"Get out of the way Phoebe!" he yelled. He let the fireball go just as she ducked. Grral threw out his chest and let the fireball hit him.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" he asked.

"No." He motioned to Leo. "This was."

Grral looked around in time to see the vase shatter. Caught off guard, he wasn't able to deflect all of the little shards. He screamed in pain as bits of glass tore into him.

Using the distraction, Cole ran up to Phoebe.

"Phoebe!" Cole whispered urgently. "Throw this at Paige with this when I tell you to." He handed her the bloody star.

Phoebe looked over Cole's shoulder to ask for Paige's permission. Before she could even ask anything, her little sister nodded to her.

"Okay," Phoebe agreed, looking at the two of them with uncertainty.

"Hey!" Grral yelled, finally recovering from the surprise attack. "That hurt! We're done playing!" His eyes turned red to match his body. "The next hit is gonna be your last!"

"So will ours," Cole taunted.

He nodded to Phoebe as Grral stalked towards them. She pulled her arm back and let go of the throwing star. Cole watched it fly at Paige and hit her just below the chest. He raised his hands and waited for it…

"AHHH!" Paige cried in pain.

There! Cole waved his hands and switched Paige's and Grral's positions. Suddenly, Grral was the one standing in Paige's position, with a gold star in his tattooed chest!

"No…" he whispered, pulling the star out of his chest. "NOOOOO!"

He suddenly tensed up and his red body started to swell…

"HIT THE DECK!" Cole bellowed and dove to the ground. Grral's swollen body burst, filling the room with red slime and his echoing scream.

After sheets of red goo had stopped raining down on them, Cole looked up to see Phoebe running to Paige. She knelt down next to her little sister and tried to wipe the slime off Paige's face.

"Are you okay sweetie?" she asked worriedly. Paige moaned softly. Phoebe placed her hand on the cut in Paige's chest and she pulled back a bloody hand.

***

BZZZZZZZ! BZZZZZZZ! BZZZZZZZ!

The Siderite field was working overtime blocking wave after wave of demonic goo. The large circle in which Leo, Piper, and their daughter were sitting in was still complete free of demonic guts.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked.

Piper nodded and pulled back the blanket that was covering their daughter. "She's okay too, aren't you my precious little baby?" she cooed to her daughter. Leo smiled at Piper.

The Siderite field had stopped buzzing, meaning that the red goo had stopped flying. Leo took a crystal from the circle to break the field. All of the slime that was clinging to the field suddenly fell to the floor, and Leo could see the rest of the room again. His eyes fell onto Paige who was lying on the floor unconscious and bleeding.

***

"Why didn't you switch them faster?" Phoebe demanded, glaring at Cole. "You just made me hurt my own sister."

"I'm sorry Phoebe, but I had to," Cole said.

"Had to what? You had to tell me to throw a weapon at my sister and you had to wait until it almost killed before you moved her out of the way?"

"How is she?" Leo asked as he ran over to them. He started to heal Paige.

"She's alive, but barely," she said, glaring at Cole, who was still standing a distance away from them.

"Phoebe…" Paige whispered. "Don't be mad at him."

"You did great," Cole said, coming to the side of his fallen sister-in-law. "Are you okay?"

She smiled and nodded.

"I'm sorr–"

"You don't have to say it," she told him. Looking to Phoebe she said, "He really did have to let you hit me. If he had switched us before the star actually cut me, then Grral would have had a chance to deflect the attack."

Phoebe sighed and gave Cole a look. It wasn't apologetic, but it wasn't angry either. Turning back to Paige she said, "I can't believe you agreed to be hit with a throwing star."

Leo helped Paige to her feet and then they healed Cole's hand together. "I didn't know Cole was going to do that. And believe me, if I knew he was going to do that, I never would have agreed."

"What?" Leo asked as the four of them headed over to Piper. "You mean that Cole told you to do whatever he said and you listened to him?"

"Pretty much. Anyway, I knew Cole wasn't going to kill me."

Leo and Phoebe sat down next to Piper in the only clean area of the living room and thought about what Paige just said.

"Wait," Piper said. "Are you telling me that Paige actually trusted Cole? That's a miracle."

"Ha ha ha," Paige retorted sarcastically and sat down too. "The miracle is this cute little girl that I haven't gotten a chance to hold yet. May I?"

Piper glanced at all of the demonic slime that had settled on Paige and gave her a skeptical look.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Oh yeah!" Paige said, looking at herself. "Give me a second."

Closing her eyes, Paige took a deep breath. She orbed out, leaving the slime behind her. All of the red goo fell to the ground. She orbed back in and ran her finger through her now clean hair.

"It feels good to orb again."

"Wow," Piper said, utterly amazed at her little sister's display of magical talent. "When did you learn to do that?"

"You're not the only one who's been practicing their magic," she replied, referring to Piper's demonstration skills in the attic. "Now hand over the cutie pie."

Piper held out her daughter to Paige who gently took her in her arms.

"I guess its official," Phoebe said. "Cole is now trusted by everyone in this family." He knelt down and she hugged him. "And I'm sorry I got mad at you before."

"Apology accepted," he said and kissed her.

"Hey, I've gotta question Cole," Piper said. "How did you switch Paige and Grral's positions? Wasn't that magical movement?"

"Actually, it wasn't. That power didn't make them disappear. It just moved them really quickly into each other's positions."

"Okay, well I've got another question for you Cole. What's been up with you lately?" Piper asked. "You've been acting… I don't know… weird?"

"You mean nice," Paige offered.

"That's the word I was looking for."

"Have I really been acting weird?" Cole asked.

"You mean 'nice'? Yeah," Leo said. "A lot. Even I can notice it."

"Give me an example," Cole requested.

"Well there was you giving up the sword to Leo," Piper said.

"And you comforting me on the stairs," Paige broke in.

"You caught the throwing star with your bare hand to protect us," Piper continued.

"You defended me when Grral threatened me," Paige broke in again.

"You actually complimented my daughter," Piper added.

"And you just checked to see if I was okay and tried to apologize to me," Paige concluded.

Cole looked at the both of them. "Hmm. I guess I have been kind of nice. I think it was becoming human again that did it. Even after Phoebe turned me away from darkness as Belthazor, I could never fully grasp compassion. Even though I have demonic powers again, I think that being a human for a while changed me."

"Wow. I think a compassionate Cole is bigger news than Paige trusting him," Phoebe said teasingly.

Paige looked up from her niece long enough to give Phoebe a dirty look.

"Do you mind if I hold her?" Cole asked Piper.

"Sure, but lose the demonic guts first," Piper said.

"Allow me," Paige offered. She handed her niece over to Leo. Closing her eyes in concentration, she waved her hands at Cole and Phoebe. "Slime!" She orbed the slime off them and threw it over her shoulder and onto the sofa. Paige turned back to see the rest of the family giving her surprised looks.

"What?" Paige asked. "The sofa was already covered in slime."

Phoebe laughed. "Whatever." Turning to Piper, she held out her hands. "See? We're slime free. Can Cole and I have the baby?"

Piper nodded and Leo passed the baby to Cole who took her gently in both arms.

"Hello baby. I'm your Uncle Cole," he said in a soft voice.

"Next to the baby, I think you're the biggest miracle here," Paige said looking at Cole's gentle manner. "It looks like your demonic past is completely behind you."

As soon as those words were out of her mouth, Paige cringed inwardly. She hadn't meant to bring up his past again, and she looked around for someone to reprimand her. Surprisingly, no one did. They all knew Paige was right. Even Cole looked up and smiled at her.

"With all these miracles it feels like Christmas has come early," Piper said happily.

"Are you ready for one more?" Leo asked.

Piper gave him a curious look as he orbed out. Seconds later her returned with a baby blanket that looked similar to the ones the girls had when they were little.

"Is that what I think it is?" Piper asked softly.

"Yep. Fresh from the hands of Grams, Mom, and Prue."

"Really?" Piper asked, delighted by the gift.

"Yeah. They just finished it and they called me up to get it for you. They had a hunch on what we might name her, so they added the letter already."

He opened the blanket to reveal the letter 'M' in the lower corner.

"Melinda," she said, and he nodded.

Piper took the baby back from Phoebe and Cole and wrapped her in the blanket.

"Melinda," Piper said again and smiled down at her daughter. The baby opened her tiny blue eyes for the first time that day and stared up at her family.

The five of them sat in the slime filled living room, starring back at Melinda in awe. They were bruised, battered, and tired, but none of them could be happier. Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Leo and Cole were enjoying the first peaceful moments with their newest family member, feeling the joy that only love could bring.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Totally forgot to finish editing this... So as an apology, instead of cutting this into two chapters, here's the rest of the story! XD

f72d281a51 


End file.
